The SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, today announce the team’s 2022 field staff.
Gabe Alvarez has been named the new SeaWolves manager for 2022. Alvarez joined the Tigers in July of 2021 serving as a Minor League hitting coordinator.
Joining Alvarez’ staff will be Pitching
The SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, today announce the team’s 2022 field staff.
Gabe Alvarez has been named the new SeaWolves manager for 2022. Alvarez joined the Tigers in July of 2021 serving as a Minor League hitting coordinator.
Joining Alvarez’ staff will be Pitching Coach Dan Ricabal, Hitting Coach John Murrian, Development Coach Ollie Kadey, Athletic Trainer Chris Vick and Strength & Conditioning coach Andres Rodriguez.
FIELD STAFF BIOS
GABE ALVAREZ – MANAGER
Gabe Alvarez has been named the 19th manager in SeaWolves history. The 2022 season will mark his first as a manager.
Prior to joining the Tigers, Alvarez spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Southern California. He also served as the Trojans’ recruiting coordinator and hitting coach before departing for professional baseball.
Alvarez was selected in the second round of the 1995 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the San Diego Padres. After spending three seasons in the Padres Minor League system, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft and then traded to the Tigers. Alvarez began the 1998 season with the Toledo Mud Hens and made his Major League debut with Detroit on June 22, 1998. He split time between Toledo and Detroit from 1998-2000 before being traded to the Padres in July of 2000. His spent the last three seasons of his playing career in the minors at the Double-A level with affiliates of Cincinnati (2001), Milwaukee (2002), and the Chicago White Sox (2003).
DAN RICABAL – PITCHING COACH
Dan Ricabal joins the Detroit Tigers organization in 2022 and will serve as the SeaWolves pitching coach.
Ricabal began his coaching career in 2000 where he served as pitching coach at College of the Canyons. He spent 2001 at Cal State Fullerton as an administrative assistant before moving on to UC Santa Barbara to be the Gauchos pitching coach for three seasons. Ricabal then made the jump to professional baseball in 2006 where he served as a pitching coach at various levels of the Los Angeles Angels organization for seven seasons. He returned to college baseball in 2012 and spent the next 10 seasons as an assistant coach with Loyola Marymount (2012-2016), Long Beach State (2017-2019) and Cal State Fullerton (2020-21).
Ricabal was originally drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the 1990 MLB Draft. He would go on to play collegiately at Cal State Fullerton. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a Minor League free agent in 1994 and would go on to spend six seasons in the Minor Leagues between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants organizations. He made it as high as the Double-A level with both organizations before concluding his playing career in 1999.
JOHN MURRIAN – HITTING COACH
Former SeaWolves catcher John Murrian will serve as the team’s hitting coach in 2022. Murrian spent the 2021 as the Lakeland hitting coach, a role he held the two previous seasons with the West Michigan Whitecaps and GCL Tigers.
Prior to his transition to coaching, Murrian spent five seasons (2014-18) as a Major League bullpen catcher with the Tigers. Before assuming the role of bullpen catcher, he played five seasons in the Tigers minor league system, hitting .243 with 20 home runs and 116 RBIs. Murrian spent parts of three seasons with the SeaWolves from 2010-2012. As a catcher, he maintained a 33 percent caught stealing rate over the course of his playing career.
Murrian attended Winthrop University where he played three seasons with the Eagles. He was drafted by the Tigers in the ninth round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
OLLIE KADEY – DEVELOPMENT COACH
Ollie Kadey joins the SeaWolves staff in 2022 as the development coach. It will be his second season in the Tigers organization. He spent the 2021 season as the Lakeland Flying Tigers Development Coach.
Prior to joining the Tigers, he worked as the analytics manager at Texas Baseball Ranch from 2015-19. In that role, he worked with numerous current Major League players and prospects to aid their arm strength development, command and secondary pitches.
Kadey played collegiately at Missouri Western State University from 2010-13 and studied finance. Over the course of his career with the Griffons, he established a school record for complete game shutouts.
CHRIS VICK – ATHLETIC TRAINER
Chris Vick returns to the SeaWolves in 2022 for his second season as the team’s Athletic Trainer. Prior to joining the SeaWolves, he served in the same capacity with Detroit Tigers affiliates at Class-A West Michigan (2019), Class-A Advanced Lakeland (2017-2018), Class-A Connecticut (2015-2016), and the Gulf Coast League Tigers (2014).
Vick previously served as an Assistant Athletic Training Intern with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in the Boston Red Sox organization (2013). He also served as a Strength and Conditioning Intern with the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws in the Philadelphia Phillies organization (2012).
Vick completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Athletic Training from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.